The following quote by BJ Armstrong describes Derrick Rose's greates asset:
"I have said his greatest asset, his greatest quality, is that he is a phenomenal, phenomenal listener," BJ Armstrong says. Armstrong, who played on three of those Jordan championship teams, is now one of Rose's closest mentors. "He listens. He is able to take information, decipher what is important, decipher what is not important, and gets to the crux, right to the heart of what is going on right there."
Chris Paul believes, AS WE TEACH AT NRP, that the ball must be dribbled HIGH AND HARD. He calls it "Dribbling with Force" ... same idea. As we often tell our dribblers, you must "POUND THE BALL WITH AUTHORITY!" Chris explains quite well in this short video segment the advantages of dribbling high and hard. In addition, dribbling high and hard enables you to move quicker on the floor. There are times when a lower dribble (below the knee) is advantageous, such as when entering the lane on penetration or splitting through a gap; however, the game's best dribblers Paul, Nash, Rose, et al, are all high and hard dribblers. Just watch and study them!!!
Ricky Rubio demonstrates the GLIDE DRIBBLE to get ball im position to play Pick & Roll, then ATTACKS THE OPEN SIDE, and finishes the scoring move with a patented Manu Ginobili EURO STEP.
Williams demonstrates the GLIDE DRIBBLE to get himself in position for Pick & Roll play. Once he attacks the defense, he uses a HESITATION STEP BACK to attack the switch created by the pick.
Russell Westbrook demonstrates the split of a defensive hard hedge. This is a place where the dribble must be LOWERED below knee level and pushed out ahead of the defense with a change of direction move and EXPLOSION.
No guard in the NBA executes the pick and roll more efficiently than Steve Nash. Notice the precision passing, usually a bounce pass off the dribble much like the backdoor pass.
An little known student-athlete at Davidson University, Stephen Curry burst into the national spotlight after he led his college team on an amazing run as a 10th seed in the 2008 NCAA tourney. Steph is another example of a player who has reached a level of excellence through WORKING HARD and having a PROPER MENTAL ATTITUDE. Steph's younger brother, Seth, currently plays at Duke University.
Chris Paul never played high school varsity basketball until his junior year. An All-American student-athlete at Wake Forest University, he is one of the NBA's best point guards. Only 6-0 and 180 pounds, Chris relies on COMMITMENT, RESPONSIBILITY, and WORK to compete with the best.
